Posted in: 20th Century Studios, Movies | Tagged: 20th century, 20th century studios, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, wes ball

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Is "Essentially a Quest Narrative"

Kingdom of the Planet the Apes director director Wes Ball says the film is "it is essentially a quest narrative." It will be released on May 24, 2024.

Published Sat, 25 Nov 2023 12:17:07 -0600

by Kaitlyn Booth

Comments

Article Summary

Wes Ball presents 'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes' as a Star Wars-esque quest narrative.
The film embarks on a significant time jump, depicting a 'Bronze Age' in the Apes saga.
New character Noa faces trials that challenge his identity in the ape-dominated world.
Set for a May 24, 2024 release, the film builds on the legacy of Caesar's reign.

No one expected the previous Planet of the Apes films to be any good because the previous remake wasn't good, and, at least with the first one, it seemed like a cash grab. However, as the series moved on, it became apparent that we were witnessing one of the best trilogies to come out in a very long time. Even the weakest entry was still pretty damn good, and the films really brought something to this established universe that we hadn't considered before. When War for the Planet of the Apes was released, everyone thought that the series was done, but then 20th Century announced that a fourth film was on the way. While the immediate reaction is to call easy cash grab, you have to remember that we said the first thing about the first film back in 2011, and look what that got us. If any franchise has earned a little grace, it's this one. Director Wes Ball recently spoke to Empire about how he wanted to make this film a bit more Star Wars, but at the end of the day, this is a quest narrative.

"When I first started on it, I said, 'I feel like Apes needs a little bit of Star Wars,'" says Ball. "It's all still very grounded in reality, but it is essentially a quest narrative. Our main character – the young, impressionable Noa [Owen Teague] – meets characters along the way and becomes awakened as he winds up in a place that will test him, and he ultimately becomes his true self."

It seems that absolutely no franchise that survived the Disney acquisition can avoid having this question asked, but Ball has assured people that, "We haven't kiddified it, or Disneyfied it if I'm allowed to say that! But we have brought a younger spirit to it." One day, people will stop asking that question about every single film that falls under the Disney umbrella in some way. One of the things that makes this film different from the others is that the first trilogy took place over two years. However, this film makes a pretty significant time jump, though Ball wasn't specific about how long it has been. Ball explained, "I wanted to do a big leap forward in time. It's significant enough that Caesar is still a spirit in the movie, but most of his living relatives are not in this picture. If the last three movies were the Stone Age, here we get to see what happens when they enter the Bronze Age." So not only will this be completely different in terms of characters, but we will be looking at an entirely different planet. The film is currently holding onto its May 24, 2024, release date after studios like Disney decided that writers and actors are worth paying livable wages to, a.k .a. the strikes have ended.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes: Release Date, Summary, Cast List

A new entry in the studio's global, epic franchise, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, will open exclusively in theaters nationwide on May 24, 2024.

Director Wes Ball breathes new life into the global, epic franchise set several generations in the future following Caesar's reign, in which apes are the dominant species living harmoniously, and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is directed by Wes Ball (the Maze Runner trilogy) and stars Owen Teague (IT), Freya Allan (The Witcher), Kevin Durand (Locke & Key), Peter Macon (Shameless), and William H. Macy (Fargo). The screenplay is by Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds) and Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (Avatar: The Way of Water) and Patrick Aison (Prey), based on characters created by Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver, and the producers are Wes Ball, Joe Hartwick, Jr. (The Maze Runner), Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Jason Reed (Mulan), with Peter Chernin (the Planet of the Apes trilogy) and Jenno Topping (Ford v. Ferrari) serving as executive producers.